BAGHDAD , Iraq -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Kept in a derelict warehouse at Baghdad 's airport for months , sleeping four to a bed with poor food and no money , hundreds of would-be contract workers are stranded , claiming they were duped by unscrupulous recruiting agents into coming to Iraq for nonexistent jobs .

Men staying in an airport warehouse say they paid recruiters to take them to Iraq , believing they 'd get jobs .

The recruiters told the men -- from India , Nepal , Bangladesh , Sri Lanka and Uganda -- that jobs were waiting for them with American defense contractor KBR , through a Kuwaiti company called Najlaa Catering Services . The recruiting agents charged them between $ 3,000 and $ 5,000 to make the trip to Iraq ; many sold their farms or other valuables to raise the money .

But when they arrived in Baghdad , they said , Najlaa housed about 1,000 of them -- 600 in the one-room warehouse -- in the compound within the airport , surrounded by private security guards . Showers are there , but are useless because the taps are nonfunctional . Many have questions about their visas and status in Iraq . Legally unable to stay , they lack the money to return home .

Asked if their governments were helping them , the men said , `` Nothing , nothing . '' They said that when they protested , their guards fired guns upward to silence them . Watch footage of the men , warehouse ''

Najlaa 's officials in Iraq refused comment to CNN . The company 's Kuwaiti office said the situation was `` under control '' and being dealt with .

Some Ugandan men said the Iraqi police handcuffed and beat them . `` They say , ` If you are here for the U.S. , we 're going to show you the difference between the U.S. government and the Iraqi government . Let 's see if the U.S. is going to help you , ' '' one man said . Iraqi police would not answer questions regarding those allegations .

As the men spoke to CNN on camera , an official in charge of them threatened to lock them out of the compound unless they returned inside within two minutes .

KBR was not involved in recruiting the men . The company told CNN it does not condone unethical behavior , saying its contractors abide by its code of conduct , including training in human trafficking . The company said when it becomes aware of possible trafficking it works `` to remediate the problem and report the matter to proper authorities . KBR then works with authorities to rectify the matter . ''

Meanwhile , men at a separate makeshift camp nearby said they were duped by different recruiters . They live off food donated by Iraqi workers , and say the men who brought them to Iraq have disappeared .

The men in the makeshift camp said their immigration status is in limbo . Their passports have been taken , or pages with visas have been torn out .

Help may be on the way . The men said United Nations workers had visited them . The world organization told CNN it is aware of the situation and is figuring out how to assist the men .

The U.S. military told CNN it takes human rights abuses seriously and is looking into the matter . The Iraqi government has also confiscated the passport of a Najlaa official until a solution is found .

But for the stranded men , help ca n't come soon enough .

`` It 's not fair , '' one said .

CNN 's Thomas Evans and Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report .

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Men claim recruiters duped them into going to Iraq for nonexistent jobs

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Men say they were charged between $ 3,000 and $ 5,000 to make the trip

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One group staying in derelict warehouse in Baghdad ; another in makeshift camp

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United Nations says it is trying to determine how to help the men